Drilling barge with anti-scouring plates



Jan. 27, 1959 c, s|E usEN, JR, ETAL 2,870,609

DRILLING BARGE' WITH ANTI-SCOURING PLATES Filed March 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'DRILLIN G BARGE WHH ANTI-SCOURING PLATES Christian H. iebenhausen, .l1' and Wilfred S. Crake, Houston, Tern, assignors to Shell ,Development Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application March 2, 1954,"Serial N0. 413,494

Claims. (Cl. 61-46.5)

barge containing the necessary drilling equipment, to-a predetermined location where the barge is sunk to the bottom. Since the water in such ofif-shore locations varies indepth, the entire barge may sink below-the surface of the water or the upper portion ofthe barge may remain above the surface of the water.

Since an off-shore well may take several weeks or'several months to drill, there "exists the problem of the ocean scouring the bottom soil around and/ or under-the edges of a submerged drilling barge or other submerged vessels, due to the action of the waves and currents. This scouring action, in time, oftencauses settling of theba'rge or other vessels, accompanied by a considerablezdislocation of the drilling operations.

Anobject of the present invention is to provide. .a: submersible drilling barge or any other vessel employed --.in drilling operations and-adapted to--be-fioated;to acpredetermined location where it is. submerged, said barge :or vessel being provided with suitable protection against .the scouring action of the waves.

Another object of this invention is to p'rovideua submersible drilling barge equipped with suitable antiescouring' means which are adapted to'be loweredinto place against the ocean floor to break undertow'velocity and/ or the :orbital velocitiesassociated with waves around the main hull of the barge, so as to prevent or minimize the removal of material from under the barge by the scouring'action of the waves.

A further object of this invention is to providea-well drilling barge with anti-scouring means adapted to be lowered into place after the barge'has been submerged so' as tozprevent the tides and currents lfrom scouring material from beneath the barge while a well is being drilled.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a submersible drilling barge equipped with anti-scouring means adapted to be lowered into position after the barge has ibeen .sunk to themocean floor and to be subsequently raised against the ,hull of..the barge to an inoperative position when it is desired to move the barge to another location.

Theseland other objects of this invention will be understood from the following description taken with "reference to the drawing, wherein:

Figures 1 and 1a are diagrammatic views of a portion of off-shore drilling barges which havebeen'submergcd so that they rest on the ocean floor with the anti-scouring means lowered in place against the ocean floor.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a portion of drilling barge shown in Figure l.

Fi re 3nand-4-are detailed views illustrating the, reinforced construction "of an anti-scouring plate employed in accordance with -,the present invention.

,Figure 5 isra diagrammatic plan view of aidrilling bargeof the openslot type which is entirely surrounded by a;,plural-ity ofanti-scouring perforatedor grid-like .guard plates in-accordance with the, present invention.

Referring to Figures l and 1a of the drawing,- a drilling barge 10,-is illustrated --as having drilling equipmentiineluding a derrick 11 supported thereon. Another suitable construction of a barge or other submersible vesselqmay be used in practicing :thepresent invention.

.Secured toat least oneside of-the barge 10 by'means Ora-hinge member 12 is a perforated plate 13. Onegor morecabl'es 14-are secured'to the edge of theguard plate 13 opposite -the hingediedge for-raising the guard plate 13 whenever it is desired to move the-barge 10 to another location. The cablemay 'pass'over a sheave 15'mounted on the derrick or at the top of. the post--16 which is,'*in turn,.securedto theebarge 10 so as to be positioned-above the deck thereof. ,--Af;ter passing ov'er the sheave 15,the

cable 14is wound'ona winch-17 whichi's employed for raisingand lowering the guard plate 13.

'As shown'in Figure Zof-the drawing, the guardplate 13 may be provided 'with a; plurality of :perforatio'ns or openingslswhich maybe of any-suitable size andshape .and..are,preferab ly arranged in 1a "pattern most suited to reducethe -wave and vcurrentvaction against the hull of the barge 10. 'In Figure 2 of the drawing, for illustrationpurposes, half ofthe perforations are shown as circular holes 18, while the other'half are shown as'rectangular holes 18a. 'The guard-plate 13 may be of anysuitableconstiruction and is preferably formed of sheet metal or the like. The thickness of'the guard plate is suflicient ofthe drawing, at least one of the: guard plates 13 is;positioneduon the windward sideof the drilling barge =10. Theedge of ,theguard plated? adjacent the hull maybe hinged to the barge -at varying ,heights abovetheocean fioor,-the.height .beingydetermined by experience with or study of the wave action or currents in the area where the barge is to be used. Preferably, the hinge member 12a is secured to the hull of the barge at a point at least about one-third the distance from the ocean floor to the upperdeck of the barge. hull. However, the hinge member may bepositiohed much higher and in shallow water, if desired-even abovethe surface of the water, as shown atfi12.

'frhe size of the guard plate 13 maybe determined only from: the experience of drilling operations inthe specified area. f'However, best results are obtained if the guard plate. 13 hasa length at least equal to one-half the length of. the side of the hull to which it is attached. .As diagrammatically shown in Figure 5- of the drawing, a Ll-shaped drilling barge having an open slot 26 therein may be entirely surrounded by 4 guard plates :27, 28, 29

and '30, or 'thesefour long plates may be replaced by a plurality of shorter guard plates. ,Each of the guard plates zlto 30 i'sprovided with one or more cables 31 for raising or lowering the plates into position. In the event the barge 10 is provided with a drill rig 11 as shown in Figure l, the plates 27 to 30 (Figure 5) may be lowered by means of a drill rig hoist instead of having each any suitable manner,-.as 'by'fiooding, so that the bottom During towing of the barge restson the ocea'n floor.

scouring means to interfere with and prevent wave action operations, the guard plate or plates 13 hinged to the V barge are carried in an upright position, that is, with the plate 13 being in a substantially vertical position or substantially parallel to the sides of the barge. After the barge 'is in position on the ocean 'floor, cable 14 is allowed to unwind from the winch 17, thus allowing the outer end of the plate 13 to drop until it contacts the ocean floor, as shown in Figure 1. With the plate or plates 13 in this position, the action of waves or currents against the hull of the barge 10 is substantially reduced thereby preventing or minimizing to a great degree the scouring action of the waves or currents which tend to remove the unconsolidated particles of the ocean floor from beneath the edges of the barge.

. As already stated hereinabove, it is the basic purpose of this invention to provide means for a gradual absorption of wave energy, which is effected by opposing to the shock of waves, an inclined and perforated, that is, wave plervious barrier. This is in contrast with the usual guard of breakwater principle, wherein an immovable barrier is opposed to the waves normally thereto, which i requires conventional breakwater elements'to have a commensurate strength and weight or size. The perforated or grid-like guard plates of the present invention are so designed that a gradual and partial, rather than complete,

interference with water motion is achieved as the waves 3 The water-pervious guard plates of the present invention thus interfere with the orbital motion of the waves, thereby reducing the forces exerted by said waves against the barge, and particularly the scouring action of said waves.

Prior to moving the drilling barge to a new drilling location, the cable winch 17 is actuated so as to wind the cable 14 and raise the porous plate 13 into its original and substantially vertical position. Due to the perforate or grid-like construction of the plates 13, there is generally from scouring earth from beneath the sunken barge, said anti-scouring means comprising a perforate plate positioned in the water adjacent the barge to attenuate the effect of the orbital velocities of waves, said perforate plate means being pivotallysecured to the side of said barge to pivot outwardly therefrom so that the edge of the plate opposite the pivoted edge rests on the ocean floor, the pivoted edge of said plate being secured to said barge at a level of at least about one-third the distance from the ocean floor to the upper deck of the barge hull.

3. A submersible drilling barge adapted to be towed to a predetermined location and sunk to the ocean floor, at least one side of said barge being provided wtih antiscouring means to interfere with and prevent wave action from scouring earth from beneath the sunken barge, said anti-scouring means comprising a perforate plate posi- -tioned in the water adjacent the barge to attenuate the effect of the orbital velocities of waves, said perforate plate means being pivotally secured to the side of said thereof.

- 4. I A submersible drilling barge adapted to be towed to a predetermined location and sunk to the ocean floor,

said barge being provided with an anti-scouring means to interfere with and prevent wave action from scouring earth from beneath the sunken barge, said anti-scouring means comprising perforate plate means positioned in the water adjacent the barge to attenuate the eifect'of the orbital velocities of waves, said perforate plate. means being pivotally secured to the sides of said barge to pivot outwardly therefrom so that the edge of the plate means opposite the pivoted edge rests on the oceanfloor with the plate means forming an angle of at least 15 with .the ocean floor, and cable means attached to the outward edge of said plate means for supporting said plate means throughout the pivotal motion thereof.

little accumulation of sedimentary material on the upper surface of the plate which might interfere with the raising of the plate. If it is found necessary to remove any sand or other material which may have settled on the top of the plate 13, this may be readily accomplished by directing a stream of pressure fluid through a pipe or hose against the accumulated sand.

We claim as our invention:

1 l. A submersible drilling barge adaptedto be towed to'a predetermined location and sunk to the ocean floor, at least one side of said barge being provided with antiscouring means to interfere with and prevent wave action from scouring earth from beneath the sunken barge, said anti-scouring means comprising perforate plate means positioned in the water adjacent the barge to attenuate the effect of the orbital velocities of waves, said perforate plate means being pivotally secured to the side'of said barge to pivot outwardly therefrom so that the edge of the plate means opposite the pivoted edge rests on the ocean floor with the plate means forming. an angleof at least 15 with the ocean floor. 7

' 1 2. A submersibledrilling barge adapted to be towed to a. predetermined location and sunk to the ocean floor, at least one side of said bargebeing provided with anti- 5. A submersible drilling barge adapted to be towed to a predetermined location and sunk to the ocean floor, said barge being provided with an anti-scouring means to interfere with and prevent wave action from scouring earth from beneath the sunken barge, said anti-scouring means. comprising perforate plate means positioned in the water adjacent the barge to attenuate the effect of the orbital velocities of waves, said perforate plate means being pivotally secured to the sides of said barge to pivot outwardly therefrom so that theedge of the plate means opposite the pivoted edge rests on the ocean floor with the plate means forming an angle of at least 15 with the ocean floor, and winch means for winding and unwinding said cable means to raise and lower said perforate plate OTHER REFERENCES Publication, World Oil, Feb. 1,1950, pages 108, 11 0, 112. a 

